Lucas
Lucas is Amber's Tactical Team Commander. Personality Lucas is brilliant, compassionate, insecure about relationships, and workaholic. He thinks so much faster than normal people that he tends to leave out some of the words in his sentences. The only person who can then understand what he means is Amber, who reads his mind. Thus he considers her the only girl for him - especially as all others quickly bore him. He can analyze puzzles and situations with lightning speed and formulate complicated action plans within seconds. Early Years Lucas was an unwanted duty child by a Level One couple who never wanted children, and had originally intended for him to be adopted. He was born via a surrogate mother. Somehow the adoption fell through and he grew up with his real parents in the Orange Zone of Level One. His father, who was originally from a different Hive, left the family when Lucas was six. Lucas sought him out during the next New Year's celebration but was harshly rejected by his father, whom he never saw again. When he was thirteen and moved to Teen Level, he found he was no longer welcome in his mother's apartment either, not even as a visitor. Being so much smarter than the other teens, but vulnerable after that difficult childhood, he found it hard to fit in on teen level. Eventually he managed to fit in by playing the clown, something he still tends to do as an adult when he feels socially insecure. "...What you went through as a child and on Teen Level was bound to leave scars. Those scars are both your strength and your weakness. They gave you the sensitivity and emotional strength to be a brilliant Tactical Commander, but also left you vulnerable in certain areas.”Edwards, Janet. Borderline (Hive Mind Book 4) . Wallam-Crane Press. Kindle Edition. Work History Lucas was imprinted as Tactical Commander three years b before Amber went through Lottery. Someone has to be especially gifted to be imprinted for a Telepath Unit in a year when no Telepath is discovered. He was assigned to Keith's Tactical Team, led by Gaius, as a simple team member and a year later was promoted to be Deputy Team Leader. Gaius had already identified him as a potential tactical commander while he was on teen level, and has mentored him during his early years. When Amber was discovered he was presented for her consideration as her Tactical Commander. She was immediately impressed by the brilliance and number of levels of his mind, and flattered by the sexual interest he exhibited on his subconscious levels. Subsequently, they quickly became friends and worked together very closely. Unit Responsibilities The Tactical Commander only answers to the Telepath and the Gold Commander, who rarely interferes in the day-to-day running of the Telepath Units. He is in charge of all operational units, so that Adika, the head of the Strike team, as well as Nicole, the leader of Liaison, technically report to him. In practice, his leadership style is more collegial. His own Tactical team consists of twelve specialists, some of which are more technical (Hallie, Beckett - the pattern specialist - and Telyn, the attack specialist) while others are more people-oriented, notably Gideon, the seventy-year-old defense specialist in the team. They all work in a large office, part of which is furnished for brainstrorming sessions. A Tactical Commander needs to master all the various roles of the team, so that it is difficult to find qualified candidates with such a wide range of talent and intellect. During check runs it is normal for Lucas to accompany Amber and the Strike team, but during emergency runs he will direct the actions of the whole unit from his Tactical office. He will give the order "Strike Time!" when the strike team will overpower their target. Lucas and the Tactical Commanders of other Telepath Units have regular conferences to coordinate their actitivties and discuss threats to the Hive. Summary Telepath Lucas and Amber first meet at Hive Futura, where she confirms him as her Tactical Commander. He explains to her what Telepath units do, that her future role is catching the criminals - whom she calls wild bees - that may threaten their Hive. She is immediately taken with the brilliance of his multi-level mind, and they get close within the first week. Megan and Fran, two of her other unit leaders, are not happy with the growing closeness between Amber and Lucas, while Adika, her Strike team leader, is initially put off by the clown act Lucas tends to put on. Lucas is hesitant to act on their mutual attraction at first, convinced that Amber will prefer one of the attractive Strike Team members specifically selected to appeal to her. However, when she does not pair off with any of them he starts to court her in earnest. After her traumatic first emergency run, it is Lucas who comes to Amber's rooms to make sure she copes with the harrowing experience. He takes her on a simple check run the next day, including a restaurant meal and buying socks, to show her that not all her duties will be so terrible. Lucas shares a love of swimming with Amber. He gives her lessons in shooting, since she said she would feel safer being armed during emergency runs. Their courtship does not proceed altogether smoothly, there are some misunderstandings, especially when Amber quarrels with Lucas for trying to discover why she is so terrified of Outside. A chance remark leads him to guess the truth about her childhood memory and solve the mystery of her obsession with her friend Forge. When Amber falls into the trap set by an enemy agent, Lucas spares no effort to save her. By the end of the book they are partners and moving in together. Defender Lucas needs to help Amber cope with the symptoms of fragmentation, the lingering effects of minds she has read, which can overwhelm telepaths. Moreover, he is hurt in a fire in what had been supposed to be a simple check run, and has a crisis of confidence when he believes that he bears the blame for the the victims of that arson attack. With Amber's help he manages to overcome his doubts. He also guesses how to help Amber overcome her problem, and formulates a brilliant plan to prevent a major catastrophe for the Hive. He and Amber work as a team, supporting each other through some terrible challenges. Hurricane Lucas is faced with the request to take over the responsibility for the Sea Farm, now that Morton's health no longer permits him to cope with that difficult task. He is reluctant to agree, and even more reluctant to accede to the orders of Gold Commander Melisande to take the entire Telepath Unit to the dangerous Sea Farm. However, the Hive needs them to step up, despite all risks, and Lucas tries to focus attention on himself rather than Amber, to keep her safe. He arrives at the Sea Farm accompanied by fighter planes, makes a speech where he promises to catch the criminal they seek within days, and then brilliantly traps the ruthless killer they are seeking. Borderline Still exhausted from the previous mission Lucas faces new challenges including conflict with other telepaths, having to rescue a friend who got lost on teen level, and neutralizing a teen game which has become increasingly dangerous to its players. From scant information, Lucas once again solves a mystery with his usual brilliance. Keeping certain information secret from everyone except Amber turns out to be providential. His private life is more difficult - his subconscious terrifies him with fears of rejection during the dreaded New Year celebrations. Shopping for specially designed festival outfits for Amber and Lucas, with Amber's mother and several of her friends, is interrupted by an emergency. The outfits are nevertheless commissioned by Buzz, from an ambitious up-and-coming designer. When Lucas sees Amber in her festival outfit he has a bout of fear that she will leave him. This insecurity becomes great distress during the festival itself, that he and Amber spend with her family on level 27. His traumatic memories of being rejected by his father during a New Year festival when he was six are swept away by Amber's steadfast support and love. References